Sunday, August 26, 2007

All I need now is some good ole hill climbing workouts. It's high time I get over the the gravel roads by the Scout Camp and at least one day a week I need to hit the hills around New Hartford.

Here's a few pics for you. You will count five of my favorite things in one pic alone. Let's name them. First is the frame. Salsa Mamasita 29er. So sweet! 2nd, my Ergon E1 grips. Perfect for me. 3rd, Salsa stem. Steel is real baby! I also love the 11 degree bend on those handlebars. Feels just right. 4th, 8 speed! Enough said. 5th, Shimano brake levers, just perfect. 6th, not mine but, the wheelset and tires I am testing for twenty nine inches. So far, so good.

Been getting in some pretty good rides lately. Getting ready for Chequamegon. Took a little time to do some shopping yesterday with the wife and youngest child. The older one was as a party. This picture was taken just minutes after she threw a fit for not getting a stuffed kitty from the last store we took her to for the day. Notice one of the business names in the background......how fitting especially given the mood she was in.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Friday, August 17, 2007

Well. Let's just say it was good to get out and ride. I have been riding a bit, working a lot. Been doing a few senior photo jobs so that has been taking up my blogging time. I went to Cedar Bend Wed night and I must say what a mess. The storm that ripped through the area that morning hit the park pretty hard. Tons of large trees down. Many of them over the trail. I made a huge effort to make it out for an off-road ride for a couple of reasons. I am on a special assignment testing some high end bike schtuff and really needed this terrain to get a feel for the product. Stay tuned to twenty nine inches for a post soon on what I am testing. They post some pretty cool stuff there, especially if you like 29er stuff.

I also bought a new set of pedals from Bike Tech the other day so I really needed to put some miles on them to decide if they will stay in my hands or find their to ebay. They are the Xpedo SL CR. So far the pedals are working fine. I was hoping for a little more degees of float but I think I am out of luck. The box says 15 degrees but I think I get around 6 or something. Nothing compared to the egg beaters. Egg beaters broke though. Entry and exit is good though and the little mud that I walked through did not seem to bother them at all. The thing I really love about the egg beaters is the cleat. You just bolt it to the shoe and forget about it. There is only one way to mount it with no possibility to adjust it because you don't need it. And it worked! These Xpedo's are similar to Shimano's in the respect of overall pedal design and the cleat. They are completely compatible with Shimano pedals. I like that part since egg beaters are not compatible at all. I will continue to post my comments here about the pedals. I like the price too with retail around $99 (minus the Bike Tech Team discount they were an even better deal, thanks Brent). That puts them alot cheaper than the Shimano XTR pedals and only a little less quality but still good. We'll see how they hold up though.

Tomorrow is another Senior photo day and a good hard mtb ride. Maybe I can make my way over to New Hartford Ia for some nice gravel hills.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

What a grand time we had at the Eco Tri. First place with cuz and Casey Dean. What a hoot! Hats off to those guys for letting me play with them. I was honored. Also, a big hats off to Rob Houlihan for a first place in the solo event. That was amazing.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

We have been eating a lot of sweet corn lately. My oldest daughter lost another tooth though. That is two teeth in the last 7 days from eating corn. Thankfully I still have my meat cutting skills from when I was a butcher so I am able to cut her corn off the cob without cutting myself.

Also, you will see a nice shot of a b road about two mile from my mothers house near Reinbeck. It was dry and super fast.